Thai Protesters overrun airport blockades

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Title – Thai Protesters overrun airport blockadesSource – The Independent on Sunday
Date – 30th November 2008

This situation was if not inevitable, at least wholly predictable. The political situation in Thailand has been deteriorating for some time now and the patience of the protestors was being pushed to the limit; some form of further action seemed inevitable. Sadly stuck in the middle now, are over 100,000 tourists trying to leave Thailand and countless others, who have had to cancel their plans to travel.

The effect this will have on the tourist industry in Thailand is to yet to be established. Thailand had just started to get back to normal after the devastation of the 2004 Tsunami. Will it stop people travelling to Thailand? Probably not, certainly in the short term it will have an effect as people choose other destinations rather than taking the risk of having to cancel holidays; but in the longer term it will bounce back again. However that will certainly start to change if this ‘siege’ repeats itself, Thailand will start to lose its appeal in favour of other destinations if people start to see the country as unstable and believe the chances of their holidays being disrupted as high.

Thailand is in deadlock. A government seemingly fairly elected, even if the current prime minister was appointed by the elected party rather than through any electoral mandate (not so unusual when you consider our own prime minister…); suggestions of government corruption at the highest level; an army that wields great power but is reluctant to act against the people, especially those who ‘support’ the King, to whom the army is ultimately loyal; a police force who are loyal to the government, but not highly effective and who are keen not become political pawns or go against the army, the king or the people; and the King who is revered in Thailand by all, but who is keenly aware not to get involved in civilian politics or meddle with the government structure and who has himself not designated a clear order of succession to his rule which is a worry to everyone in Thailand.

Thailand is perceived by many despite all of these factors to be a ‘safe’ destination for British travellers and Thailand paints this picture well in promotion of its tourism industry. The reality can be very different and complacency is the traveller’s worst enemy. There are many considerations which travellers to Thailand must consider:

Travel Health: There are many travel health concerns to consider; Malaria is widespread in many parts and Malaria Prophylactic drugs should be discussed with a doctor at least 6 weeks prior to departure; Dengue Fever is increasingly common and in some specific locations, almost at epidemic levels, yet despite being aware of localised outbreaks information is not always widely communicated for fear of putting off tourist; Rabies is endemic and travellers should avoid any animal that can be a carrier and consider vaccination before departure; food hygiene is not always of the highest standards and travellers should only drink bottled water;
Travel Safety: Illegal drugs although readily available in Thailand carry heavy sentences, the death penalty is still enforced for drug trafficking, British citizens are not protected from heavy sentences for drug offences; scams of all sorts are common in Thailand, the more serious of these scams can include the drugging of victims for the purposes of robbery; road traffic accidents are a common cause of hospitalisation in Thailand; and statistically Thailand remains one of the highest risk destinations for British citizens;
Destination Advice: Apart from the political situation mentioned earlier, there is an ongoing violent struggle in the south of Thailand between Muslim separatists and the largely Buddhist government. This has resulted in thousands of deaths over the past few years and countless ‘terrorist’ attacks. Tourists have become unwittingly involved in this conflict with kidnappings and deaths occurring as a result.

Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) run a Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshop (GYITSA) designed to provide travellers to any part of the world with the knowledge and skills to travel safely and allow them to make the most of all the new experiences they encounter whilst avoiding the wholly predictable pitfalls that occur along the way.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Lorry kills Africa gap year student

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Title – Lorry kills Africa gap year student
Source – Metro
Date – 17th November 2008

It’s always very sad to read stories like this one about Claire; our thoughts are always with her family who have to deal with the loss of a person who was clearly gifted, had a zest for life and a passion for exploration and travel. When accidents happen so far away from home it adds a sense of helplessness that exasperates the tragedy still further.

This is a terrible accident, it could have happened 5 miles from her home or 5000 miles away in Africa. The only difference being that generally speaking regulation is stricter in the UK with regard to driving standards, enforcement and the maintenance of vehicles on the road; so in that sense roads in ‘developing’ countries are by their nature are more dangerous.

I would not suggest that there was much that could have been done differently which would have changed the tragic outcome of this situation, but it can serve as a warning to others. It can act as the starkest reminder that additional care is required on the roads, crossing the roads and even standing at the side of the road, in some parts of the world.

It was only a few weeks ago we were discussing the tragic bus accident in Egypt. In the UK we don’t hear about the many tragedies on the roads in other parts of the world, but look at the statistics and it is clear that people should take much greater care and attention when we are far away from home and we need to appreciate that the rules we apply at home often don’t apply abroad. Many parts of the world the differences are far more profound than just driving on the other side of the road.

At Beyond The Blue (safe gap year) we run Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety and Awareness workshops (GYITSA) designed to provide anyone planning a Gap Year or Career Break to travel more safely and with heightened awareness of the risks faced in other parts of the world. We cover issues of personal safety, Transport Options, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Safety and much more. There are some tragic accidents where nothing would alter the outcome; but for many of the problems faced by travellers, understanding the potential risks allows us to reduce them, without affecting the enjoyment travel offers us.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Tourists in India samosa shock

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Title – Tourists in India samosa shockSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 17th November 2008

Here is a tip you can have for free. When travelling anywhere in the world ALWAYS agree the price before you buy. If you don’t you have not got a leg to stand on when you are charged the ‘tourist price’ afterwards.

Often even when you agree a price it will be claimed that either a different price was agreed or that it should be more because of some ‘unforeseeable’ change in circumstance. Ask any traveller if they have felt ‘ripped-off’ at any time on their travels and you’ll meet few who can honestly say they haven’t.

On many of my travels I have argued (sometimes heatedly) that I was only going to pay the previously agreed price or that if a larger bill couldn’t be changed, I was going to refuse to pay; I wouldn’t be the first person to arrive in a new city and take a meter taxi to my guest house which takes 45 minutes from the airport, but when I agree a prearranged price for the return trip, the drive only takes 5 minutes…. It is one of the ‘joys’ of travel.

We need to have some perspective. The key is to do your best to get a ‘deal’ but not to get obsessed over the best deal. Pay what you are comfortable paying and be satisfied with that, don’t fret that you could have saved 10,000 Dong (Vietnam), after all 10,000 Dong is only 38p… how many times will we spend 15 minutes arguing over 38p when we are at home?

I have to say I admire many of the people who try and ‘rip me off’ when I travel. The best sales people I have ever met are in countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Madagascar etc. These are people who make the candidates from The Apprentice look like real amateurs; only the circumstance of their birth prevents them from joining the ranks of truly successful business men, business women and often business children!

Think also about what that 30p means to you, as opposed to what it might mean to them. Obsessing about the cost of every little thing can really ruin a trip; it can end up being the focus of everything you do. Being confident and relaxed about your purchases will result in you getting better deals generally, it will allow you to enjoy the haggling rather than dreading it. If you end up paying a little more than the bare-minimum sometimes, think of it this way; someone who most likely struggles each and every day to earn enough to feed their family will be a little happier, it’s not a high price to pay…

Travel should be about what you can get out of the country you visit and what you can give in return, it should not be about how much you can exploit the country you are visiting.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop (GYITSA) provides candidates with the information they need to travel more safely and to make the most of their experiences. We examine issues such as Travel Safety, Travel Documentation (insurance, currency, cash and visas etc.), Cultural Awareness (including a session on haggling) and Responsible & Ethical Travel amongst others.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Burma court jails more protesters

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Title – Burma court jails more protesters
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 14th November 2008

It is always difficult to decide if this blog is really the right place to highlight the problems in Burma and to add our voice to the call for a free Burma; after all this is really about Gap Years and Independent Travel. The world is full of very worthy causes that we should be promoting; Zimbabwe; Congo; Sudan; China & Tibet; The Middle East; the list seems endless…

My justification for it is this; we don’t ignore other parts of the world where very terrible situations are occurring, there is no merit in comparing one situation with the next to see ‘which is more worthy’ and certainly during our workshops we examine the issues of Ethical Travel to those countries candidates are planning to travel to; but it is better I believe to concentrate efforts in this blog and in my life personally on one or two causes that I can be truly passionate about; where I feel I have a direct emotional link to the subject. For now we concentrate our efforts on raising the profile of; the street children in Mongolia through the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, their child sponsorship programme; and to raise the profile of the disaster that has befallen the Burmese people for the past 60 years.

So with this in mind I look at what is happening in Burma at this very moment and see yet more evidence of the insanity (literal) of the generals, who illegally ‘rule’ the country. Much as their insanity is evident in their actions, it is also clear that they are the masters of subtle but devastatingly effective suppression and that nothing anyone inside or outside of the country thinks makes even the slightest dent on their non-existent consciences.

However as much as they have never paid any attention to the opinion of rest of the world, they also like the ‘quiet life’, probably more for the effect pressure has on their trading partners, rather than any pressure they might feel from ‘western’ powers.

Maybe I’m cynical, but if I am it is only because the history of the Burmese Military Regime has proven that cynicism when it comes to their actions is usually closer to the truth than any other approach. Can it really be a coincidence that this seemingly rushed ‘judicial process’ and the disgraceful consequences have taken place when the world is consumed by the worst financial crisis in a generation, when news headlines are dominated by economic meltdown and the inside pages by the crises in Congo? There is little space or time for news agencies to print or report on this story and the lack of credible information makes them more reluctant still.

To think, if I were in Burma writing this Blog I would be looking at 20 years in one of the world’s worst gaols; my family and friends would be facing persecution and any privilege they were afforded would be removed; and many of their friends would have no option but to shun them for fear of reprisals through association…. It makes me feel quite sick to even write this with that thought in my mind…

I have written before on this blog my justification for urging people not to visit Burma on Ethical grounds. I urge you now to visit the Burma Campaign website. Anything we can do to make sure the world does not forget those people who have more courage than we in the ‘west’ can even understand, are not just locked up and forgotten, is worth doing. I have never known a Free Burma, looking at the history of Burma, few people alive in the world have and then only for a few years; I hope in my lifetime I have that opportunity and more then that I hope one day the Burmese people have the opportunity to choose that course for themselves.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

Belgians die in Egypt coach crash

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Title – Belgians die in Egypt coach crash
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 31st October 2008

It was only a month ago I was writing about the kidnapping of tourists in southern Egypt (Sahara tourists are held captive after being seized by ‘band of gangsters’) and warning that while in that case it was an unusual and unpredictable occurrence, there were other quite serious risks that travellers to Egypt should be aware of. We highlighted the dangers on the roads in Egypt and their poor record on road safety.

Sadly I now find myself commenting on another tragic road accident, this time involving a bus of Belgian tourist and resulting in the death of 6 and the serious injury to another 26.

A combination of poor road conditions, poor driving standards, the long distances involved and drivers being pressured to drive through rather than take regular breaks, is a lethal combination. I am not suggesting fault in this particular case, because at the time of writing the investigation seems to be on-going. The problem is with many of the roads being two lane highways and long stretches of flat straight road, it is not just your driver who can place you in danger, there is a very real threat of oncoming vehicles being out of control, the driver not concentrating or (as seems to be the case in many of these accidents) being overtired or asleep.

However as always we must emphasise that millions of tourist visit Egypt without incident.

Our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness workshop (GYITSA) provides information on Transport Options and the importance of asking the right questions before you choose the best means of travel. We are never in complete control of all the risks we face, but by reducing those we can control we can make travel significantly safer.

Throughout our workshops we examine a number of subjects that will reduce the risks you face on your travels, these include; Travel Health, Travel Safety, Destination Advice and specific advice for Women Travellers.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.